Written Answers Monday 23 August 2010

Scottish Executive

Air Services

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who the operator of last resort is for air services that are provided under public service obligations.

Stewart Stevenson: There is no operator of last resort for air services provided under public service obligations (PSOs). In the case of any interruption of a PSO air service, a different community air carrier may be selected to operate the service for a period of up to seven months under Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 on common rules for the operation of air services in the community.

Apprenticeships

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2010 ( Official Report c. 27425), how many employers had taken on a "Modern Apprentice who is a care leaver or other young person who might otherwise struggle to get such an opportunity" as of 30 July 2010, broken down by local authority area.

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Minister for Skills and Lifelong Learning on 17 June 2010 ( Official Report c. 27425), how much it has paid to employers taking on a "Modern Apprentice who is a care leaver or other young person who might otherwise struggle to get such an opportunity", broken down by local authority area.

Keith Brown: The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. I will ask the Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland to write to you with the information you have requested.

Concessionary Travel

Charlie Gordon (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost of reimbursement to transport operators is per kilometre travelled for journeys made by passengers eligible under the national free bus travel scheme in each year since the scheme commenced.

Stewart Stevenson: The reimbursement paid to bus operators under the scheme is based on the revenue foregone for each journey, i.e. the fare that would have been paid in the absence of the scheme. Although these fares derive from fare tables submitted by the bus operators, journey distance is not recorded, and as such it is not possible to report on the average cost per kilometre travelled.

Ferry Services

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an operator of last resort is identified in the new tendering document for running services on the Gourock to Dunoon ferry route in the event of default or failure in the winning tender

Stewart Stevenson: The tender documents for the Gourock to Dunoon ferry service have not yet been issued. It would therefore be inappropriate at this stage to comment on the content of these documents.

Ferry Services

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who the operator of last resort is for (a) Caledonian MacBrayne and (b) NorthLink ferry services.

Stewart Stevenson: There is no operator of last resort in respect of these ferry services.

Fire Safety

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fires in private rented properties were the result of faults in electrical installations and products in 2009.

Fergus Ewing: This information is not held centrally. The latest national statistics are contained in the Scottish Government Statistical Bulletin, Fire Statistics Scotland, 2007 , which was published in August 2009. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35292 on 30 July 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

NHS Hospitals

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the employment of two locums to fill vacancies for consultant acute care physicians at the Vale of Leven Hospital is sustainable and, if so, for how long.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that the acute physician appointments are to supplement the team of physicians based at the Royal Alexandria Hospital who will be providing acute care at the Vale of Leven Hospital on a rotational basis. The NHS board point out that these appointments are therefore not as locums to the Vale; the clinicians will play their part as members of the overall consultant team providing acute care at the Vale. The board has assured us that these arrangements are sustainable whilst the full complement of staff is put in place in a planned way to deliver the Vision for the Vale of Leven Hospital.

NHS Hospitals

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it considers that substantive appointments will be made to the posts of consultant acute care physicians at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that, based on the likely dates of completion of training, they expect that substantive appointments to these posts will take place by the middle of next year.

NHS Hospitals

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions have been held with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding the Christie ward at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: Scottish ministers and officials regularly meet with NHS boards to discuss matters of importance to local people.

  I was very concerned to learn of the fire at the Christie ward on 11 July 2010. I wrote to the ward staff shortly afterwards to pay tribute to their calm but rapid actions which I understand were instrumental in avoiding potentially very serious consequences, and ensured the safety of local patients.

  I understand that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will fully brief the Vale of Monitoring Group on the position in respect of inpatient mental health services and the possible next steps at its meeting on 30 August 2010.

NHS Hospitals

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people from the (a) G81, (b) G82, (c) G83 and (d) G84 postcode areas have been admitted as mental health inpatients to (i) the Christie ward at the Vale of Leven Hospital and (ii) any other inpatient mental health facility in each year since April 2006.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is presented in the following table, as provided by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Highland.

  

Postcode
Location
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


(a) G81
(i) Christie Ward
*
*
*
*


 
(ii) Other GG&C 
131
134
137
126


 
(ii) Other Highland
*
*
*
*


(b) G82
(i) Christie Ward
51
55
60
46


 
(ii) Other GG&C
18
33
23
36


 
(ii) Other Highland
9
*
*
*


(c) G83
(i) Christie Ward
36
30
45
31


 
(ii) Other GG&C
12
11
19
6


 
(ii) Other Highland
*
*
*
*


(d) G84
(i) Christie Ward
48
42
33
25


 
(ii) Other GG&C
5
18
14
10


 
(ii) Other Highland
6
*
*
*



  Source: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Highland

  Notes:

  The data relates to the following mental health admissions: Adult, Addictions, Rehabilitation and Intensive Psychiatric Care Unit. Elderly, Forensic and Learning Disability admissions are not included.

  *Numbers of less than five have been suppressed to help maintain patient confidentiality.

NHS Hospitals

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) timetable and (b) process is for considering the future of the Christie ward at the Vale of Leven Hospital by (i) NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and (ii) the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.

Nicola Sturgeon: I understand that this will be discussed at the next Vale of Leven Monitoring Group on 30 August 2010. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde should be prepared to discuss all reasonable options with the Group in the first instance.

  The fact that the ward is no longer operational will clearly affect the way both NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the monitoring group take forward their roles in relation to providing ministers with a further report on local demand for inpatient mental health services.

  I am aware that the board has been sharing data on the local demand for inpatient mental health services with the monitoring group since its inception. My view is that it is reasonable for the group to expect that the local demand for inpatient beds continues to be monitored over a longer period in order to establish a meaningful trend. I also think such an extended period, of around eight to 10 months, would allow the group to monitor the efficacy of the enhanced community-based services put in place by the board.

  The monitoring group’s conclusions will ultimately inform consideration of future service proposals at Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board. Following a board decision, Scottish ministers will take all the available information into account in coming to a final view on the future of local inpatient mental health services.

NHS Hospitals

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will involve the Vale of Leven Monitoring Group in the consideration of the future of the Christie ward at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon: Having made this a specific requirement in the monitoring group’s remit, and having ensured there is relevant representation on the group for mental health service users and carers, I expect NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to ensure that the group continues to be fully involved in the consideration of the future of local inpatient mental health services.

NHS Staff

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cleaning staff have been directly employed by the NHS in each year since 1999, broken down by board.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not held centrally as data on cleaning staff directly employed by NHS are not captured separately in the workforce statistics. NHS Services Scotland Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland publish data annually, as at 30 September, on Support Services - Hotel Services staff, which includes domestic staff but following agenda for change (AfC) assimilation the post descriptor domestic staff may not encompass all cleaners. Cleaning staff may have assimilated into other post descriptors. These figures include domestic supervisors and domestic managers. Furthermore, some NHS boards still externally contract cleaning staff which therefore makes it difficult to provide specific and accurate data on cleaners. Data for the years 2007 to 2009 for Hotel Services staff are presented in the following table:

  

 
2007 Head Count
2008 Head Count
2009 Head Count


Scotland
8,753
9,136
9,516


National Waiting Times Centre
45
49
55


NHS Ayrshire and Arran
947
963
963


NHS Borders
306
311
304


NHS Dumfries and Galloway
263
272
278


NHS Education for Scotland
3
-
-


NHS Fife
514
528
546


NHS Forth Valley
540
540
552


NHS Grampian
1,035
1,059
1,101


NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
1,947
2,223
2,418


NHS Highland
509
532
530


NHS Lanarkshire
479
489
500


NHS Lothian
1,316
1,307
1,381


NHS National Services Scotland
12
15
16


NHS Orkney
47
44
41


NHS Scottish Ambulance Service
9
9
8


NHS Shetland
1
1
1


NHS State Hospital
50
56
55


NHS Tayside
651
656
687


NHS Western Isles
79
82
80



  Source: Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS).

  The data in the table for September 2009 covers only six months of the year 2009-10 for which an additional £5 million was allocated to employ up to 600 more cleaners. When the September 2010 data is published it will show the full impact of that funding.

  Prior to 2007 NHS Workforce Information was published based on the Whitley pay structure. For this reason it is not possible to compare the Whitley staff in post information to AfC bandings. Domestic staff information for the years 1999 to 2006 is available at:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/servlet/FileBuffer?namedFile=WFG02_HB_REG.xls&pContentDispositionType=attachment.

NHS Staff

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the budget has been for employing locums in Fife hospitals in each of the last five years.

Nicola Sturgeon: The information requested is not specifically held. However, expenditure on medical locums by NHS Fife is available and is shown in the following table:

  

2005-06
2006-07
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10


£2.475 million
£2.632 million
£2.548 million
£3.352 million
£3.300 million



  Source: NHS Fife.

NHS Staff

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure that Fife receives a fair allocation of junior doctors to alleviate any problems with staffing in hospitals.

Nicola Sturgeon: The allocation of junior doctor training places is a matter for NHS Education for Scotland (NES) who are responsible for the Scottish Medical Training annual recruitment and selection process. On this basis, NES are working in partnership with NHS Fife to ensure the appropriate allocation of junior doctors in their board.

National Health Service

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the changes to the NHS proposed by the UK Government and any impact that they might have in Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon: Health is a devolved matter and therefore changes proposed by the UK Government to NHS services in England do not have a direct impact on NHSScotland, however we are working with colleagues in the Department of Health to keep in touch with ongoing developments.

  The principles within Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS echo the Scottish Government’s commitment to healthcare services free at the point of use for those who need them, and to our ambition to make NHSScotland a world leader in healthcare quality, which is set out in our recently published Healthcare Quality Strategy. However, some of the structural issues are of less relevance in Scotland and some aspects of the UK Government’s proposed approach are very different from the mutual NHS to which we are committed in Scotland. We will continue to consider whether there are any aspects of the UK proposals which might help us deliver the kind of world class services we have set out in our Quality Strategy.

National Health Service

Michael Matheson (Falkirk West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive Executive what assessment it has made of the changes to the NHS proposed by the UK Government and the impact that they might have on spending in Scotland through the application of Barnett consequentials.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Barnett consequentials of any changes to the health budget in England will become known when the Chancellor announces the outcome of Whitehall’s Comprehensive Spending Review on 20 October 2010.

  Scottish ministers have consistently maintained that these consequentials will be applied to the Health budget in Scotland and have responded to the Independent Budget Review in these terms.

Prison Service

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether every prisoner would be considered for compassionate release in the event of a diagnosis of a terminal illness.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  I can confirm that all convicted prisoners irrespective of sentence length, or when they were sentenced, are eligible to be considered for early release on licence on compassionate grounds if diagnosed as suffering from a terminal illness and provided they fulfil the other required criteria.

Roads

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has responded to the reporter’s report on the A8 received by ministers in October 2008 and, if not, for what reason.

John Swinney: It is expected that a decision will be issued in the near future.

Roads

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has responded to the reporter’s report on the M8/M73/M74 Network Improvements Scheme received by ministers in July 2009 and, if not, for what reason.

Stewart Stevenson: Yes. A decision was issued on 11 January 2010.